Examinations of Oppression by a Lover of Consensual Subjugation

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[Featured Fetish] Financial Slavery

Continuing on the discussion that I started over at Verbosity at its Sluttiest, I will be talking about some of the finer points of getting the most out of a financial slavery dynamic. While I would usually aim conversations on fetishes and the like at beginner’s and experienced kinksters alike, for this fetish, this is really hard to do. The main reason for this is because of the sheer level of trust, communication, and forethought that is needed to engage in this fetish in a safe, consensual, and enjoyable fashion. However, since I strongly dislike ruling people out of conversations, I will try my very best to make this as open to as many people as possible.

Financial Slavery:

Financial Slavery refers to a number of different activities and dynamics which all revolve around a Dominant’s control, management, and use of their submissive’s funds. Because of this large variability in the possible structure of these relationships, this could take the form of anything from the very simple (having the submissive purchase goods for the Dominant as a sign of subservience) to the seemingly extreme (handing over complete control of financial matters to the Dominant).

As can be imagined, some of these different dynamics can be seen in stereotyped non-kinky relationships. However, in these situations, the financial control isn’t done with any thought being given to the enjoyment of the parties involved; Rather, it is usually done out of some sexist assumption, socialized gender role, or one partner’s inability to care about financial realities. Meanwhile, in the kinky lifestyle, some of these same dynamics can come into play without the invocation of financial slavery. This is because, unless one finds the active and explicit control of their funds (or those of another) arousing, this is not a fetish, but instead merely a financial reality.

Risk Awareness:

As with everything that we do in BDSM, as well as in life in general, there are risks involved with this dynamic. For the most part, however, the risks are relatively minor until the dynamic moves to the more extreme levels of financial servitude. Before that point, the main thing to watch out for is overspending and general carelessness with the financial situation of the submissive party. Should this happen, all hell could break loose, obviously.

At the more extreme levels of financial domination, other, more serious risks can arise, including the damage to one’s credit rating and gaps in employment history. For the first of these, the cause could be something like the carelessness that I mentioned above, but it could also be from chronic under use of credit services. For example, should a slave be forced to live on an allowance for an extended period of time, the slave’s credit cards could go completely unused. Over time this can damage the slave’s credit score and make it harder for them to use credit, should they need to in the future.

In a similar vein to the risk around credit score problems, employment history problems could have a long-term impact on a submissive’s life. In some situations, Dominants who take financial control of their submissive’s life may choose to use their power to make the slave a stay at home submissive. This shift, while sometimes useful or impossible depending on the context pulls the submissive completely out of the workforce, sometimes for a very long time. While this can work out very well for a relationship, this could also end badly should the submissive ever need tor return to the workforce. This is because, while they submissive may have been super busy tending to the family, the home, and the whims of the Dominant, the submissive now has no recent references or employment history to rely on when looking for a job.

Consent:

To me, financial slavery is one of those fetishes that is deep in the wilderness of the “Power Exchange” forest. It is not something that is usually considered to be one’s first steps in the lifestyle or even into control play. Instead, it is usually the more experienced traveler of BDSM who makes it to this remote, and rather extreme, fetish. Because of this, having to say that consent is mandatory seems a bit condescending. However, should it stop one abusive asshole, it will be completely worth it.

So, above and beyond anything else, having both parties willingly and without pressure agree to this sort of dynamic is a must. Without that free, clear, and changeable consent, this isn’t BDSM, this is abuse. Again, while that may seem really strongly worded given the target audience, I feel that it is needed, especially since so many abusive people use the control of money to control their victims and to stop them from leaving a dangerous, or possibly deadly, situation.

Now that I have that out of the way, I feel that it is important to mention that financial domination involves the exchange of a large amount of control, and for a dynamic such as that to be successful, a great deal of mutual trust is needed. To gain and maintain the level of trust needed for this type of fetish, open and honest communication is a must. Much like consent before it, I can’t stress enough the importance of communication, especially around the most difficult topics and the most challenging times. Without this communication, a dynamic that exchanges as much power as this is, at best, doomed and, at worst, dangerous.

Enjoyment:

As is the case with most fetishes, the enjoyment is really in the eye of the beholder. If control and power exchange are not activities that you would rate highly, it is not likely that you will enjoy financial slavery at all. However, should you enjoy the ideas of power exchange or its realities, there is a good chance that you could find financial domination interesting, erotic, and arousing.

Beyond that, however, the only tip that I have for you is a vague one: Make the dynamic your own. Your dynamic, much like your personality, is something that is unique to you. After all, what this dynamic looks like for someone in the role of the bratty submissive seeking attention or discipline is going to be completely different from what this dynamic looks like for a strict Dominant. There is really no right or wrong way to engage in the lifestyle, nor is there a right or wrong way to engage in this fetish.

Glorified, no. Not even close.
Bastardized may be a better word. Everytime it gets exposure to the mainstream, it is swarmed with mainstream girls. Girls who have no interest whatsoever in financial domination. Girls who think the things they see on tv are real, and the internet always tells the truth. As a result, almost every time you read something written by an outsider it goes more like this:
” this fetish is the worst fetish in existence, manipulating disgusting imorral. I would argue you under the table on this topic, im going to contact the owner of these posts, and also going to expose financial domination. Kill it in other words, this fetish causes genuine hatred and human anger.. and rightly so, parasitic fetish”

However, I have also seen the opposite. I have seen a lot of people (especially cis, white, hetero, women) come into the BDSM community just because they think that Financial Domination is an easy way to make money. To them, it is almost like, if they demand it and flirt, they get it. In circles like these, the possibility for abuse and blatant stupidity is rather high. This is why, in my post, I tried to cut a middle path that stresses that it can be awesome, but only if it is done responsibly.

Author

Morwen Edhelwen is a soon-to-be graduate student in the Social Sciences. She is passionate about understanding and challenging prejudice, discrimination, and systemic oppression. She believes that the world is never black and white and that everything is a simplification.

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